Deep Dive: ‘Security’ — Protecting the ElectronicWill-Making Process

This is part 2 of our series of deep dives on the three requirements for a 'Reliable System' for electronic wills based on the recommendations from the Law Commission for modernising wills in England and Wales.

Why Security Matters in an Electronic Will

In our previous article on Authenticity, we established how a 'Reliable System' proves who signed the will using the gold standard of Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) and other technologies.

But proving identity is only half the battle. A will is uniquely vulnerable to fraud or forgery because the testator (the person whose will it is) cannot confirm their wishes later. Therefore, the system must also guarantee the circumstances of the signing were free from compromise. This second pillar of the reliable system we refer to as ‘Security’.

Authenticity confirms the identity of the signers -the testator and witnesses – Security protects the environment in which they sign.

For electronic wills, the signing will most likely take place through a secure video ceremony, an approach that builds on the temporary emergency measures allowed by the U.K. government during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

What the Law Will Require: A Safe Execution Environment

While the Law Commission’s draft bill focuses on the outcomes – that signatures are reliably linked, and the will is protected from alteration – a ‘reliable system’ can only achieve this by first guaranteeing the security of the will-making process itself. To be valid, the will must be created in a secure environment that protects participants from fraud, impersonation, and undue influence.

In simple terms:

• The testator must sign willingly
• Witnesses must be present and able to observe clearly
• No one should be directing, pressuring or interfering
• The will must not be altered during or after signing

This mirrors the traditional paper-based ceremony – where the testator signs in front of two witnesses – but we need to reimagine things for a world where the ‘signing ceremony’ will in many cases take place online, on a video call. Security is about ensuring the safety of the moment, not just the identity of the people involved.

The Digital Challenge: New Risks in a Modern World

Moving wills into a digital environment brings huge benefits. But it also introduces new risks that paper never had to deal with.

Here are a few of the big ones the law is trying to address:

1. Fraud and Impersonation

Someone pretending to be the testator. This is no longer science fiction with the continued rise of deepfakes and high-quality impersonation tools. Yes, in 2025 it’s now realistic enough to worry about and will become even more so in the future.

2. Coercion and Undue Influence (the biggest risk)

A testator could be pressured by someone who is ‘off camera’; a risk that becomes harder to spot during remote video execution as witnesses don’t have a full view of the room.

3. Compromise

While unlikely, weak systems could allow the will to be altered during signing. Solving this now closes the door to emerging security risks.

A 'reliable system' must have robust technical safeguards to mitigate these risks, creating a secure ‘digital room’ for the signing ceremony that is as safe, or safer, than a traditional in-person signing.

The Technology Solution: Layered Defences for a Secure Execution

The Security needed is best understood as three layers, all working together to create a safe, tamper-resistant signing environment.

1. Securing the Platform (The Vault)

This is the foundation: the system itself must be hardenedand trustworthy.

A reliable system should include:

• Strict access controls preventing anyone other than the testator or witnesses from joining the signing session.
• End-to-end encryption for video and document transmission (so only the participants see and access).
• Robust Cloud infrastructure with strong security controls and monitoring.

This layer ensures that the system handling the signing ceremony is secure, before anyone even logs in.

2. Securing the User (The Guard)

This layer confirms that the people accessing the signing ceremony are genuinely the testator and witnesses invited by the testator.

It includes:

• Strong authentication (password + multi-factor + device checks).
• Digital identity verification that ensures only the verified individuals can sign.
• Session integrity checks to confirm that the authenticated people remain the verified individuals throughout the entire signing session.

This prevents impersonation and ensures only the invited participants can access the session and sign or witness the will.

3. Securing the Signing Ceremony (The Room)

This layer protects the execution itself, especially during video-witnessing.

A reliable system should enable:

• Real-time presence checks confirming that the verified individuals are the same people on the video call.
• Video analysis tools to detect hidden participants, off-camera activity, or suspicious movement patterns.
• Confirmation prompts before signing to ensure the testator understands and intends to sign.
• Locked execution workflows that prevent any edits during signing.
• Real-time audit logging of every action taken during the session.

This final layer mirrors the safeguards of an in-person signing ceremony.

The Orchestration Challenge: A Simple, Secure, Automated Signing Ceremony

The individual technologies for security – video calls, data encryption and secure recording – already exist. The real technical challenge, and the one we at adeus are focused on solving, lies is combining them into a single, stable, and intuitive user experience.

The Law Commission recommends "synchronous video execution." This means the testator and both witnesses must all be on the same live video call, at the same time, as they watch each other sign the will. The entire event – video, audio, and the document itself – must be securely recorded as one complete piece of evidence.

In a traditional setting, a human (like a solicitor or notary) "hosts" and orchestrates this process. The challenge for a 'reliable system' in the world of electronic wills – where we want the testator to be in control – is to automate this orchestration. The system must seamlessly combine the live video, identity verification, document presentation, and secure recording into a platform that guides the users through the process step-by-step, without a third-party leading the call.

This is perhaps the most complex aspect of building the reliable system. But it is also the most valuable. Creating a simple, stable, and secure signing ceremony that anyone can use is the key to making electronic wills truly accessible.

How adeus Meets the Security Requirement

At adeus, we are building our reliable system to exceed these "gold standard" security requirements from the ground up, for today and tomorrow as technology continues to evolve

• Platform Security:  adeus uses high-grade encryption for all user data, both in transit and at rest.
• User & Liveness Verification: Our identity process is designed to integrate liveness detection and strong multi-factor authentication (MFA), ensuring the person logging in and signing is the verified testator and not an impersonator or AI deepfake.

• Secure Execution Environment: The adeus system records the entire signing ceremony – video, audio, and screen share – from start to finish. This recording is then cryptographically time-stamped and securely stored along with the will and all related data. This digital book of evidence is available to the executor or courts to counter any future claim of coercion, fraud, forgery, or other form of manipulation.

Much of this happens quietly behind the scenes, the testator and witnesses simply follow the guided steps, and the adeus system does the heavy lifting.

This also supports any challenges to testamentary capacity (another reason wills are contested) particularly when coupled with the adeus Mental Capacity Assessments. Given its importance, we explore this topic in a different series of articles.

Next in the Series: Integrity

Authenticity confirms who signed. Security protects the signing environment. Next, we’ll explore the third requirement of a reliable system: ‘Integrity’: ensuring the will cannot be altered after signing.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. How does electronic will security compare to paper will security?

Significantly stronger. Paper wills can be altered, pages can be replaced, signatures can be forged, and coercion can go unnoticed.

A secure electronic execution includes cryptographic proofs, audit logs, identity verification and tamper-detection. None of which traditional paper wills can offer.

Q2. How do we prevent someone being pressured ‘off camera’?

A reliable system uses presence checks, video analysis, structured prompts, and witness validation to detect anomalies. If an issue is detected, we can check with the participants and if any concern and the signing can be paused or stopped immediately.

Q3. What happens if someone tries to interfere digitally?

The system detects unusual behaviour, device compromise, or interruptions. The signing ceremony can be paused or stopped immediately. All activity is recorded and stored in an immutable storage and can be reviewed or investigated later if needed.

Q4. Does all this security make the process harder for the testator?

No. It’s pretty complex technology, but just like your mobile phone apps, it all works quietly in the background. For the testator and witnesses, the experience feels simple, guided, and surprisingly familiar, similar to a secure video call, with clear guidance at each signing step.

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About adeus

adeus (Mankind Technologies Ltd.) is uniquely positioned to build the foundations for electronic wills in England and Wales. Backed by the UK Government, through an Innovate UK Smart Grant and supported by LawtechUK we’re also recognised as a law tech pioneer by industry figures. We’re combining legal rigour, modern technology and user-centred design to deliver a trusted, future-proof foundation for electronic wills (e-wills).

Our work ensures that when the new law arrives, the technology to make electronic wills safe and secure is in place, wrapped in a user-friendly customer experience. Our goal is to make it easy for people to create their will and update it as their lives and wishes change.

About the Author

Mark Hedley is the co-founder of adeus, a UK legal-tech company focused on modernising will-writing and digital legacy planning. He writes regularly about the upcoming reforms to the Wills Act, the future of electronic wills in England & Wales, and the evolving digital legacy space.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn

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